Governor Mills Presents Safe,
Gradual Plan to Restart Maineís Economy

The Plan to Restart Maineís
Economy

The staged plan builds on the
Governorís current Executive Orders, which already allows grocery
stores, pharmacies, financial institutions, home
repair services, child care agencies, and car repair services, among others, to
operate, and then allows for the safe reopening of those businesses
not currently operating. The upcoming four stages as contemplated by
the Governorís plan are:

Stage 1 (May): Beginning
May 1st, Stage 1 continues the prohibition on gatherings of more
than 10 people, the quarantine of all people entering or returning
to Maine for a period of 14 days, and the special precautions for
older Mainers and others at risk of COVID-19. It calls for people
who are able to work from home to continue to do so, including State
employees. It will also newly require that Maine people
wear cloth face coverings in public settings where physical
distancing measures are difficult to maintain, and continue strict
requirements for long-term care facilities. Guidance on cloth face
coverings will be issued in the coming days. Stage 1 also allows
for the limited expansion of certain business, religious, and
quality of life activities, with appropriate safety precautions...

Stage 2 (June): Tentatively
beginning June 1st, Stage 2 contemplates revising the limitation on
gatherings from less than 10 people to less than 50 people. It
also calls for people who can work from home to continue to do
so but allows for employees in certain fields to begin to reenter
the office as needed, including State employees. It maintains
the 14 day quarantine for all people entering or returning
to Maine and the special precautions for older Mainers and others at
risk of COVID-19. With appropriate safety precautions, Stage 2 would
allow for some degree of opening with reservations, capacity limits,
and other measures...

Stage 3 (July & August): Tentatively
beginning July 1st, Stage 3 contemplates maintaining the prohibition
on gatherings of more than 50 people and other Stage 1
and Stage 2 restrictions, including the 14-day quarantine on people
entering Maine. With appropriate safety precautions,
Stage 3 would allow for some degree of opening...

The stages outlined above are
advanced as a framework for planning. Innovations or expanded
testing and other capacity could accelerate this pace, as could a
determination that certain parts of Maine, such as some rural areas,
may be able to ease restrictions safely. At the same time, a surge
in COVID-19 in parts or all of Maine could result in significant
adjustments to this plan and a return to more restrictions.

Establishing
Safety Precautions: In order to reopen, various sectors of Maineís
economy will be required to work with the Department of Economic and
Community Development to implement practical, reasonable,
evidence-informed safety protocols and modifications that protect
the health and safety of employees and customers. These
accommodations may be as simple as closing break rooms, providing
flexible working hours, employee training, and installing plexiglass
shields, or as complex as adjusting a businessí sales process and
reducing occupancy to ensure employee and customer safety.